The Notion of Ambiguity Must not be Confused with that of Absurdity Painting

The title comes from a quote by Simone de Beauvoir, a French, existential philosopher and feminist of the mid-20th century. It comes from her book, "The Ethics of Ambiguity" and the full quote would have been an even longer title: "The notion of ambiguity must not be confused with that of absurdity. To declare that existence is absurd is to deny that it can ever be given a meaning; to say that it is ambiguous is to assert that its meaning is never fixed, that it must be constantly won. Absurdity challenges every ethics; but also the finished rationalization of the real would leave no room for ethics; it is because man's condition is ambiguous that he seeks, through failure and outrageousness, to save his existence." I used part of this quote because this is a pivotal little painting that turned into a profound inspiration for me to make similar pieces. It was like a light bulb that went off, or a mysterious place I had been longing for as if I was on a very long and arduous hike. Once I arrived at my destination, I realized what I wanted to explore as an artist. It was an "eureka" moment for me and the result gave significant meaning to what I had been searching for in art.